Under Certain Authority
by Monsterchild
Summary: Third installment for the Stand Together series. Scott is alive, Kitty's still missing, Rogue still doesn't want to go home, and Magneto is leading a siege on the mansion. What else could go wrong? The X-Men are about to find out.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

* * *

Prologue

Rogue couldn't stop herself from hugging Scott. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, saying, "We thought you were dead!"

But Scott, on the other hand, looked downright confused. "Um, I'm sorry, but do I know you?" he asked, with a little panic in his voice.

She let go of him and backed away, looking up at him with a furrowed brow. "You don't… remember me?"

He looked down at her with a serious face. "I'm sorry, but I think you have the wrong guy…"

"Oh, come on, one-eye," Logan said as he stepped up next to Rogue. "You gotta remember us."

The man just shook his head, taking a step back. "I don't. Again, I'm sorry, but I'm not this Scott you're looking for." He held out a hand, waiting for a handshake. "I'm James Marshall. I'm the owner of this inn," he said with a smile.

Logan ignored the proffered hand. "No, you're Scott Summers. You're a teacher at Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters, a major pain in the ass, and a mutant. You shoot lasers from your eyes."

"James" let his hand drop as his face crumbled into confusion. "How do you know about my ability?"

"Because we know you," Rogue replied, looking at him with a soft expression. "You're Scott Summers."

But he still looked unsure. "I don't know how you know about my powers but-"

"Well, let them prove it to you," Gambit's smooth Cajun drawl cut through the room.

The three of them looked at him, explanation obviously needed for all of them.

"Come back to the mansion with us," he went on with a shrug. "There you'll be tested and it'll be proved if you are or are not Scott Summers. The worst thing that could happen is that you lose a couple of hours of your time."

Scott/James hesitated. "Alright, I'll go. We can leave first thing in the morning."

Rogue smiled and looked to Logan. Logan replied, "Alright, tomorrow."

* * *

AN: Hello to all my adoring fans! Did you miss me? Well I missed you! Seriously, I did. Tuesdays have never been so boring. I had a routine down with GBH: I'd type up the chapter (which had been previously written down in a notebook) on Tuesday, then when I got home from work I'd have my boyfriend edit, and then first thing in the morning when I woke up, I would post it. Now, this week, I had totally forgotten that yesterday was Tuesday. Luckily, I already had this chapter typed, but I failed to have it edited. Which is why it's so late today. My apologies.

And a note for all of you: I would suggest you check out my boyfriend's deviantArt page: .com/

And I'm not just saying that because I love him and I want all of you to check out his stuff. No. He has some kick ass X-Men drawings on there and on the full-body picture of Wolverine, he mentions in the summary something about "working on a rather hush-hush comic project surrounding a certain fanfic based on a particular movie." I'm just saying, you might want to take a look and comment. There's also a link to his profile in my profile.

Anyways, please review. I can't wait to hear what you guys think about this first chapter.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men.

* * *

Chapter 1

Waiting for Deadpool and Domino to let them in was torture for Pyro. The belt had done its job, letting them in the gate and unlocking the front door, but the security alarms were set to go off if a code was not entered one minute after the door opened. With the floor sensors, it was safe for only Deadpool and Domino to go in. Pyro didn't like handing the reigns over to someone he didn't know and certainly didn't trust. _He_ should've been the one to go in. After being at that school for years, he knew almost every way around security. "Five twenty-three," Domino's voice echoed in the earpiece. "Alarm goes off in fifteen seconds."

But Magneto had said that their employer –whoever it was– was more comfortable with "his people" going in. Pyro wasn't sure that any of this was that good of an idea.

And it turned out that he was right. Fifteen seconds later, the alarm sounded and all of the mansion's lights flicked on.

"Fuck," Pyro growled. "So much for stealth."

Magneto sighed, rubbing his forehead in frustration. "Just go."

Pyro didn't need to be told twice. He busted through the door, tranquilizer gun at the ready with Sabertooth right behind him.

The halls were flooded with students dressed in their nightclothes, all racing to find a hidden passageway to escape through. Some of the students that recognized Pyro said his name in surprise or gave him funny looks but most just ran.

"You check upstairs," he told Sabertooth. "I got down here covered."

Sabertooth nodded and shoved through the sea of panicking students, knocking several off their feet. Pyro took off in the opposite direction, not exactly where he should be going.

* * *

Bobby woke at the sound of the alarm, nearly falling out of bed. The alarm system was in-depth and precise, which meant that it never went off by accident. And that wasn't a good thing at the moment.

He threw his blankets off and rushed out of his dorm room, moving quickly down the hall. He had to get to Tabby and Forge.

"Bobby!" the frantic Tabby called as she raced down the hallways toward him. She was dressed in a _very_ short pair of sleep shorts and a low cut tank top with the better part of her midriff exposed. "What's going on?"

"Someone's attacking the mansion," he explained, grabbing her hand. "That's the only reason why this would happen." He clasped his hands over his ears as Siryn started screeching, echoing throughout the mansion. "Come on!" he called to Tabby. "We gotta get Forge!"

They hurried down the hall to Forge's room as the screaming sound died out. "Hey, Forge!" Bobby shouted, banging on the door. "Move it!"

But there was no answer. They threw open the door and found that there was no one inside. "Shit," he growled. He knew that they should go find Forge, but he had to get Tabby to safety. "Come on," he said, tugging on her hand.

They took off again, joining the steady stream of students that hurried down the hall. "I need to get you out of the mansion," he said to Tabby.

"No!" she protested, pulling against his grip to no avail. "I'm gonna help you find Forge!"

They turned the corner and found Colossus ushering the younger students through one of the hidden passageways. "Take her," he instructed Peter, handing Tabby over. "I'm gonna go find Forge."

"Got it," Peter replied, wrapping his massive hand around her upper arm.

Bobby nodded a thank you to him before racing off again. Forge had to be around the mansion somewhere. The genius tended to study late at night in the library when he couldn't sleep. Maybe he was there.

* * *

Forge was in the library when the alarm sounded and he heard Siryn's scream. He wasn't sure what it all meant exactly, but he was smart enough to know that it wasn't good.

In a rush, he gathered his books and materials and hurried out of the library.

But the genius didn't get too far. The moment he stepped foot outside of the library, a beast of a man stopped him. There was a tense moment while the two just looked at each other, not sure what to do. "Um, hi?" Forge said slowly, as he took several slow steps backwards.

The towering man just stared blankly before raising up some sort of weapon. Forge knew that whatever it was wasn't good. He turned to run but something sharp hit the back of his neck before he could get too far.

The world swam out of focus for him before he collapsed and everything went black.

* * *

Mystique really hadn't been sleeping when the alarm went off and the pandemonium had started. She'd been thinking. Just about life and if this was where she really wanted to be. It was a good place, but was this really what she wanted out of life? Fighting alongside the X-Men?

Then the alarm had gone off, and she'd heard the scream and the hurried footsteps go by her door. Whatever was going on wasn't good.

She got to her feet and stepped out into the hallway, watching as more students ran by her. They obviously knew something she didn't.

"Mystique," an even and familiar voice rang through the halls, "is that you?"

She turned in the direction that the voice came from and her eyes widened in surprise. "Eric," she said in shock, "what-"

"What on earth are you doing here?" he asked, interrupting her.

"I could ask you the same thing," she replied, resting her hands on her hips.

A small smile tugged on the corners of his mouth. "I'm changing the world."

She let out a heavy sigh. "Why am I not surprised?"

He outstretched a hand to her as an invitation. "Care to join us?"

There was a hesitation on Mystique's part. Here was her chance to get back out in the world like before, fighting alongside Magneto for what he believed in. For a better world for mutants.

However, that world that he had fought for –that _she_ fought for– also dictated that he had to leave her behind after she'd had her powers taken from her. Magneto had betrayed her in a way.

And Hank had showed her so much kindness…

Slowly, she shook her head. "No. I don't."

He eyed her suspiciously before withdrawing his hand. "Well, then, I suppose that's that."

She nodded. "Yeah, it is."

They stood there for a moment, just looking at each other. Then, the moment was broken by the crackling of Magneto's walkie talkie. "I've got the kid," Sabertooth's growly voice said.

Mystique pursed her lips. "I guess that's your cue."

He nodded. "I suppose it is…" He paused. "The offer to join me still stands."

Again, she shook her head. "No, I'm still going to pass."

"Then… goodbye," he said before turning away with a flare of his cape.

* * *

Bobby skidded into the library and looked around frantically. Forge had to be here, he just _had _to be.

But when he saw his friend's backpack and books dropped carelessly on the floor, the iceman knew that something was wrong. "Damn it," he growled, kneeling down by the stuff.

"What's wrong, Bobby?" a bemused voice said from the doorway. "Did you lose something?"

He recognized the voice immediately and turned to face its owner, getting to his feet and narrowing his eyes. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you're involved in this, Pyro," he shot at his old friend.

Pyro just gave him a cocky smile in return. "Don't beat yourself up about it," he replied in a smug tone, "you never were that smart."

Bobby's fists clenched as his fingers ached to let the ice fly. "Shouldn't you be in prison?" he shot back.

The fire starter stepped forward before he began circling Bobby, his fingers twitching. "You know, I ran into your girlfriend," he taunted nonchalantly, examining his fuel canisters.

Iceman couldn't help himself and asked, "You saw Kitty? Where?"

Pyro let out an amused laugh. "You lost another one?" His laugh grew louder. "Good god, man, you have more issues than I thought."

Bobby flexed his hand as it coated itself in ice. "Watch yourself, Johnny."

But John kept at it. "It makes me wonder what it is exactly that you do. I mean, you must've really gotten to Rogue. When I saw her last, she was in the backwoods of Canada, sleeping in the back of a truck. With Logan."

Bobby's face stayed even, but he was definitely surprised. Of course, he knew that Logan and Rogue were on a road trip together. It just hadn't occurred to him what that meant exactly…

Pyro laughed again. "I mean, damn. That girl was all over the Wolverine."

For reasons that he couldn't explain, iceman could feel his blood start to boil.

"And now you've lost your new girl," the fire starter chuckled with a shake of his head.

Before Bobby could retort, a crackling noise echoed through the walkie talkie strapped to Pyro's belt. "I've got the kid," Sabertooth growled through the speaker.

Johnny grinned at Bobby. "Well, this has been fun, but I've gotta go." He gave a mock salute, backing away toward the door.

Just as he finally turned to walk away, his friend's icy voice snapped, "Coward."

Pyro stopped in his tracks, turning to face Bobby. "What was that?"

"I said you're a coward," he repeated. "The Johnny I knew wouldn't walk away from a fight for anything."

"Sorry, Bobby," Pyro replied, pulling the tranquilizer gun from the waistband of his jeans and holding it up. "But it would be a really short fight. This is the only way I'm allowed to attack. No powers tonight. Under strict orders." He snorted, saying, "Lucky you." He turned again, starting toward the door. "Nice to see you, iceman."

But he didn't get too far. He stepped one foot out the door before a snowball hit the back of his head. He stopped and turned to face his attacker. "I wouldn't have done that if I were you, Bobby."

"And why not?" the ice cube taunted. "It's not like you can fight back. No powers, remember?"

The walkie talkie crackled again and Deadpool's voice rang through the speaker, "Hey, fireball, where the hell are you?"

Pyro pulled the walkie talkie from his hip and replied into it, "I'll be out in a minute. I've got something to take care of first." Tossing the tranquilizer gun and walkie talkie to the side, he flicked on a flame. "You know you can't beat me. I'm just better than you."

"Then allow me to even the playing field," a female voice called from down the hallway.

A little fiery ball of energy dropped to Pyro's feet before it exploded, sending him backwards and off his feet.

The girl stood over him with a grin. "Hi, I'm Tabby."

Bobby groaned, rubbing his forehead. "Tabby, I thought I told you to go with Peter!"

She looked up with a determined look and stepped over Pyro. "I want to help you find Forge! I know I can help you!"

A chuckle came from Pyro as he got back to his feet. "Oh, so you're friends with Forge. Well," he brushed himself off, "you won't be finding him anytime soon."

Both Tabby and Bobby turned to look at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" Tabby asked defensively.

John just shrugged with an evil smirk. "Just saying."

Bobby had finally had it. He had no idea what Pyro meant, but he knew that if Pyro was involved, there was reason to be outraged. "Oh, that's it," he growled as his hands coated in ice again. "It's on."

Pyro clicked on a flame. "Bring it."

Tabby was the first to make a move, tossing a handful of energy pellets at her opponent. They exploded in midair, throwing Pyro backward, but he held his balance this time.

He retaliated in his usual manner, throwing flames toward the other two. Bobby managed to throw up a wall of ice, intercepting the attack before Tabby threw out more explosive energy balls.

However, one pellet stuck into the ice wall, and when it erupted, the wall shattered, the ice shards raining down on them.

Pyro shot more flames at Bobby, this time surrounding both him and Tabby. The walls of fire grew higher and higher.

Bobby tried to put out the fire with ice, but it was too weak. There wasn't enough moisture in the air around them. Tabby threw out a few energy spheres but none could penetrate the wall.

More and more oxygen escaped the ring of fire. All they could do was gasp for breath, laying low where they stood the best chance. They couldn't hear anything over the roar of the flames.

But, suddenly, the walls fell. The majority of the furniture around them had caught on fire, but that wasn't what had caught their attention.

Instead, they were focused on the man in the head-to-toe red and black costume who had a now-tranquilized Pyro slung over one shoulder. He looked at the two and gestured to a sofa, which was more or less engulfed in flames. "You might want to put that out," he said.

Tabby and Bobby just nodded in reply, dumbfounded.

The man paused for another moment before turning around and walking out of the library.

* * *

AN: Pyro really is a dick. Please review.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men, or Spiderman, or any other marvel characters that may come up. Just saying.

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Chapter 2

Rogue had expected a lot of things as they drove toward the mansion, with Gambit and James behind them. She'd expected the mansion to be alive as always. She'd expected to see kids running around outside, running through survival courses. She'd expected the mansion to be exactly the same as it was when she'd left.

The one thing she hadn't expected as they pulled through the gates was for the place to be deadly still with smoke billowing out from the west wing of the building.

The same panic that Rogue felt must've hit Logan as well because he cut the engine, flipped down the kickstand, and dragged Rogue with him. He pulled her along with him into the mansion, not caring if the other two were following.

The foyer was packed full of students and teachers. It seemed that every inhabitant of the mansion was standing in the small, cramped space.

Logan shoved his way through the students, Rogue following behind him. Whispers trailed after them, hushed voices commenting on her and him and where they'd been. They just ignored it.

They shoved their way to the middle of the crowd where Storm stood, the faculty and student rosters in hand. "Is there anyone I missed?" she called out over the sea of students.

Most people shook their heads, some called out, "No."

Storm was satisfied with that answer. "Okay, now is there anyone else missing?"

Again, most began to shake their heads, but someone called out, "What about the kid from the seventies? The one that showed up like two weeks ago?"

"Forge?" she replied, scanning the crowd. "Has anyone seen Forge?"

There was no reply, which was answer enough for Storm. Cursing under her breath, she made a note on the bottom of the roster. "Alright, has anyone put out the fire in the library?"

"Iceman took care of that," someone replied.

"But the fire spread to the lawn outside of the library and Bobby missed that," someone else piped up.

The stressed headmistress rubbed her temple. "Where is Iceman now?"

"In the medical wing with Tabby and Dr. McCoy," another voice explained.

"Can someone else go put out the fire then?" Storm growled, finally letting her annoyance show.

"On it!" several students chirped before a group of five or six hurried off in the direction of the fire.

"Okay," Storm said tiredly, "is everyone _else_accounted for? Is there any other immediate problems?"

Again, there was no answer. Taking the silence as good, she said, "Please, go back to your dorm rooms and stay there until further notice."

The students began talking amongst themselves as they all dispersed and headed off towards their dorm rooms.

Storm let out an aggravated sigh and turned, only to come face to face with Logan and Rogue. "Oh, Logan, Rogue," she said in surprise. "You're back."

Logan sidestepped the small talk. "What the hell happened here?"

"Well, remember how you told me about Pyro and Sabertooth attacking you?" There was a pause but not long enough for either of them to speak. "Yes, well, it seems that they weren't alone," she explained. "Magneto just led an attack on the mansion."

"Magneto?" Rogue repeated in surprise. "He was here?"

The headmistress nodded. "According to Mystique. And other students claimed-"

"Mystique?" Rogue squeaked. "What-"

"It's alright, Rogue," Storm said, placing a hand on the young woman's shoulder. "She's been on our side."

"How do we know that we can trust her?" Logan asked. He'd had one too many encounters with the shape shifter to be trusting. It was one thing knowing she worked in Washington with Hank but having her in the mansion made her too real.

"Hank trusts her," she replied pointedly, not looking up from her clipboards. "Now, students also reported sightings of two unknown people, possibly mutants, roaming around the mansion. It appeared that they were looking for something."

"Is anything missing?" he asked her.

Storm hesitated, inhaling deeply. "Not some_thing_, but some_one_ is."

Rogue furrowed her brow. "Who?"

"A student named Forge," Storm explained. "He disappeared during the attack."

The young woman nodded. "Yeah, Bobby's talked about him. Nobody else disappeared?"

"Oh, well…" the headmistress said slowly. "It was a few days ago, but… Kitty Pryde ran away."

Rogue could feel her muscles involuntarily clench. "Really?" she forced out. "Huh, well, I think I need to go have a little talk with Bobby. Excuse me for a moment." Her face scrunched into a scowl, she walked past Storm and moved quickly down the hall.

Logan smirked. "Bobby's gonna get his ass kicked. You know that, right?"

Storm shrugged and shook her head. "I've got too much to deal with at the moment to care…"

"So what's the plan with this Forge kid and Kitty?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"Well, I've informed the police about Kitty. All bus and train stations and airports have been notified and will inform the police if they see her," she explained.

"And Forge?"

She ran a hand through her hair. "I need to make sure everything is in order here, but then we'll send a search party out to look for him."

Logan nodded. "Good. Now, about Rogue's powers. She is-"

But Storm had caught sight of two unfamiliar men over Logan's shoulder. "Hello, can I help you?"

He glanced over his shoulder, finally remembering that he had other companions. "Oh, yeah, I forgot about them." He pointed to each man as he introduced them. "That one is Remy LeBeau or Gambit, as he likes to be called. I'd keep him away from the female students if I were you. And that one is… well, I guess you can him James for the moment."

Storm gave him a confused look before focusing on the newcomers. "And why exactly are they here?"

"Um," Logan said, scratching his head, "well, Gambit is an old friend who decided to tag along with me and Rogue on the way back. And James is…" He hesitated, not sure how to explain, before saying with a sigh, "Uh, James, just put on your sunglasses."

With an annoyed eye roll, James slid his sunglasses onto his face. The second he did, Storm gasped, "Scott!"

"I'm not Scott!" he groaned, taking the glasses off again.

Storm furrowed her brow. "I'm not sure I understand," she said to Logan.

"Whatever Jean did to him wiped his memory," Logan explained. "He's certain that he's not Scott Summers."

"Because I'm _not_ Scott Summers!" James growled, irritated.

Gambit snickered. "Of course you're not."

"Alright," Storm said to Logan, sounding haggard. "Let me get the mansion back to a working order, get a search party out for Forge, and _then_ I'll have Hank take a look at Scott." A groan shot out behind Logan. "I mean, James."

"And Rogue," Logan reminded her, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"And Rogue," she repeated with a nod. When the thought fully processed, she scrunched up her face and asked, "Why Rouge?"

"The things going on with her powers," he replied.

"Oh, right!" she said, finally remembering. "Yes, yes, we'll get her to Hank in a-" She was interrupted by her cell phone ringing. "Oh, what now?" she groaned before putting the phone to her ear. "Yes? Oh, hello. Really? Oh, thank you. No, no, we'll pick her up. Thank you again. Goodbye."

"Who was that?" Logan asked once she hung up.

"A bus driver reported that he saw Kitty boarding a bus in New York City, heading back here," she explained. "Do you think you could go pick her up at the station?"

He nodded. "Sure." Turning to Gambit, he asked, "Can I borrow your car?"

The Cajun eyed him suspiciously. "How do I know you won't take off with it?"

"Do you really think that I'd leave Rogue here with the likes of you?" he asked, holding out a hand for the keys.

Gambit considered it before tossing him the keys. "Just don't scratch her."

Logan smiled. "No promises."

* * *

"Bobby!" Rogue yelled as she entered the medical wing.

Hank smiled up at her as she came into the room. "Oh, Rogue, you're back. Wonderful, we can-"

"Not now, McCoy," she snapped, looking around the room. "Where's Bobby?"

"In the other room, resting," the fuzzy blue mutant replied, gesturing toward the door.

"Thanks," she muttered as she moved toward the door. But she stopped long enough to shoot over her shoulder, "Nice to see you, too," before busting into the next room.

Iceman was just getting to his feet when Rogue burst through the doors. "Rogue!" he said excitedly. "You're back!"

She, however, didn't look so excited. Nor did she notice the blonde who was sitting next to the table he'd just been laying on. "You son of a bitch," she growled at him before reaching up and slapping him across the face.

His eyes watered at the impact and his cheek stung as he looked up at the furious Rogue. "What-"

"What the _hell_ did you do to Kitty?" she demanded, pointing at him accusingly. "I told you to fix it, and what did you do? You sent her running in the other direction!"

"Hey-" he tried to interject.

"You pushed me away so you could have sex with Kitty and then you dump her for someone else?" she snapped pointedly.

"I didn't have sex with Kitty!" he said, trying to defend himself.

"That's not the point!" she barked. With a sigh, she swept a hand through her long hair. "You fix this," she demanded, prodding his chest angrily. "You fix this now, Bobby, or I swear to God, I will kill you."

Before either Bobby or Tabby could reply, Rogue stormed back out of the room.

A tense silence filled the air before Tabby said slowly, looking at him with an amused grin, "So that was Rogue? She seems nice…"

* * *

AN: I just had to have Rogue yell at him some more. It's so much fun beating the shit out of him verbally. Anyways, please let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone in this story. Literally.

* * *

Chapter 3

"I don't get why I was getting all those weird looks!" Peter Parker said to Kitty as they stepped off of the bus.

Kitty looked back at him, failing to hold back a chuckle. Peter had been wearing his Spiderman suit since before they'd gotten on the bus. He'd insisted that when he personally returned her to the X-Men that he would do it as Spiderman, not Peter Parker. "No idea," she replied with a smile.

He shook his head. "Some people just don't understand," he continued on with a fake seriousness.

Her smile still present, she punched him on the arm playfully. "You're such a dork…"

He laughed and put an arm around her waist. But as he opened his mouth to speak, another –familiar to Kitty– voice called out, "Kitty!"

She and Peter looked around until her gaze landed on Logan, who was leaning against the hood of a bright red sports car. "Logan?" she asked excitedly as she and Peter hurried toward him.

He just gave a rough nod. His eyes moved over to the red and blue boy standing beside her and he grunted, rolling his eyes. "Get in the car, Pryde. You've got some explaining to do."

She put on an ashamed face as she and Peter climbed into the car but, really, she was excited that he'd finally come back to the mansion. Peter got into the back while she took shotgun. There was silence as Logan started the car and got back onto the main road. It wasn't until they were racing down the street that Logan spoke. "You ran away, too, huh?"

Swallowing hard, she nodded. "Yeah… When did you get back?" she asked to get the heat off of her. "Did Rogue come back with you?"

But, of course, Wolverine didn't take the bait. He looked at her through the corners of his eyes, his expression was less than amused. "Nice try. Now, what did Bobby do to make you run off?"

"What makes you think it was Bobby?" she asked, pointedly as she crossed her arms.

"That boy has already made one girlfriend run away," he explained, taking his eyes off of the road for just a second. "I wouldn't be surprised if he drove you off, too."

She didn't respond to his comment, just stared down at her lap. "So can you at least tell me if Rogue is back at the mansion or not?"

Logan cast her a glance, a smug look on his face. "I told you that I wasn't coming back without her, didn't I?"

A wide grin came over her face. "Good. About time she came home."

Silence fell again before he asked, "So what're you doing hanging out with the spider?"

"It's a long story," she sighed, looking out her open window.

"Well, get talking," he demanded. "We still got about twenty minutes 'til we reach the mansion."

With a deep breath, Kitty told him all about Bobby and Tabby and how that led to her running away and her trip into New York where she met Spiderman and how they became good friends. She conveniently left out the part where they kissed because that was something that Logan didn't need to know. It would've just been unnecessarily awkward.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," he said as they pulled into the driveway of the mansion, "I think Rogue had gone off to kill the snowman before I left."

Kitty smiled at him. "It kinda does, thanks."

He waved her toward the door. "Now get in there. Storm's already in a bad mood."

Exchanging a glance with Spiderman, she climbed out of the car, the costumed hero following after her. They walked into the foyer together just as Storm had entered the room as well, having come from somewhere else in the building. "Katherine Pryde!" the headmistress scolded in a stern voice as she marched toward her. "Where have you been? Do you know-" She glanced up, catching the sight of Spiderman over the girl's shoulder. "Is that-"

"Yeah," Kitty replied with a nod, still waiting to be yelled at. "It's Spiderman…"

"I thought he was just a myth," Storm said in a hushed voice.

Kitty shook her head. "Nope, he's real."

"_The Daily Bugle_ has pictures of me at least once a week," Spiderman pointed out defensively. "Why don't people believe I'm real?" Without a face to match his voice, it was hard to tell how sincere he was.

The older woman ignored the spandex-clad man. She stopped smiling, looking down at her student with disapproval. "You shouldn't have run away like that, Kitty."

"I know," she replied quietly, looking down at her feet.

"You had everyone worried," she continued on sternly, putting her hand on Kitty's shoulder. "You just left without telling anyone."

"So did Rogue," she mumbled, folding her arms over her chest.

"Rogue told Logan," Storm corrected. "And Rogue told Logan that she was going back home. And where did you go?" She gestured to Spiderman. "New York City, apparently."

Spiderman's body language was defensive, but he was laughing a little as he threw his arms up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kitty sighed, looking ashamed. "I'm sorry, okay?"

A soft smile came over Storm's face as she said, "The important that you're home now. I'm sure you've been through enough."

Kitty gave an excited grin. "Really? I'm not in trouble? Thanks!"

"You're in trouble, but we have much bigger problems to deal with, and I need your help," Storm replied.

Before Kitty could answer, a happy voice called out, "Kitty!"

Spiderman, Kitty, and Storm all turned to see Bobby rushing toward them. He threw his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "You came back!"

She didn't return the hug. It just felt too awkward. "Um, hi, Bobby."

With a smile covering his features, he cupped her face with his hands. "I'm so glad you came back…"

Kitty stepped backwards out of his reach, pulling his hands away from her face. "Yeah… About that…" She paused, trying to figure out the best way to put it. "I came back to the mansion, but I didn't come back to you…"

Looking confused, Bobby stepped backward. "What do you mean?"

She just shook her head as she looked up at him. "If you wanna be with Tabby, that's fine, because I'm done. I'm sorry, I just can't do this anymore…"

His face fell and he stood there, looking hurt. "I don't understand…" he said softly.

"I know that you like Tabby," she explained. "And I'm not gonna be in the way."

"You're not-" he began to protest.

"You found her!" a cheerful Tabby called as she hurried into the foyer. She skidded to a stop next to Bobby, finally realizing the tension in the air. "Uh… What's going on?"

Kitty looked to her with a stone expression. "I… We just broke up."

Nobody said anything in response, leaving a thick tension in the air. The three X-Men stood there, staring at each other, not all of them aware that they were being watched by their headmistress and Spiderman.

"Well," Storm said after a few moments, breaking the awkward silence, "not to make this more awkward, but I need you three to take the X-Men juniors with you out on a search party."

"I'll help," Spiderman offered to her, bring Bobby's and Tabby's attentions to him.

The two mutants exchanged confused glances and asked, in unison, "Spiderman?"

He gave them a terse wave. "Hi there." With his brightly colored suit and almost comical stance, they weren't sure how they missed him before.

They looked back at Kitty who shrugged. "What? I've been hanging out with Spiderman, so what?"

"Can I count on you?" Storm asked sharply, focusing the attention back on her and her request. "Because I've got a lot on my plate right now."

All four of the young adults nodded. "Who are we searching for?" Kitty questioned.

" Forge," Storm informed her.

The shocked girl turned to her ex-boyfriend and barked, "What did you _do_, Bobby?"

"Hey, this wasn't my fault!" he snapped defensively, holding up his hands. "Magneto took him!"

"I leave for four days and-" she started in on him, ready to tear him a new one.

"Hey!" Tabby's voice roared over the other two of them. They looked at her, and she continued, "You can rip each other's heads off later. Let's just worry about finding him now, okay?"

Storm smiled. "Good. Now, I've got to get Scott and Rogue down to the medical wing to be examined."

"_Scott_?" Kitty and Bobby asked, shocked.

Storm heaved a heavy sigh and turned back to face them, rubbing her forehead tiredly. "It's a long story. I will explain later. Now go."

The other four turned and walked in the opposite direction, going to get the new X-Men, and they all had the same horrible feeling in their guts: this was gonna be an awkward mission.

* * *

AN:I know that this one didn't have a lot of action to it, but it was about time Kitty came back. And I'm really mean to Bobby, huh? Anyways, please review and let me know what you think.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Marvel. No character in the entire series belongs to me. The news anchor isn't even mine. Seriously, he's a real person. Which was actually an accident, but whatever.

* * *

Chapter 4

_The world was white, all color gone from existence. A slew of different voices echoed around the empty whiteness, none of them making sense, no voice forming specific words. But the tones told stories. Some were pleading, in obvious panic or pain. Other__s__ were distraught, sadness and disappointment seeping through. There were happy ones, excited and exuberant. And a few were angry, loud, and determined._

_The voices grew louder and louder, drowning each other out until one voice cut through the mayhem, silencing the rest. It was a woman's voice, a young woman. She sounded happy as she asked, "How'd you find me out here?" The last word echoed and faded into nothingness._

_Another female voice filled the air. It sounded young as well and a little annoyed as she said, "Big word? Kitty teach you that one?"_

_Another voice rose to be heard as the other one dissipated. This one was a boy's voice; he couldn't have been much older than sixteen, "Hey, guys, I think I figured out how to get home!"_

_His voice faded before an older man said in a growly tone, "How far are we from New Orleans?"_

"_I'm afraid I must decline." another man, but this one had a Louisiana accent to it. _

_A frustrated young male voice growled, "Damn it! Will you quit sniping me?"_

_Then a face materialized in the pure whiteness. It was a young woman with long brown hair and a white streak toward the front. She held a phone up to her ear and her face was contorted in anger. "Grow up," she snapped. "Stop being so goddamn selfish and grow the fuck up."_

_Her face disappeared in a cloud of smoke, only to reappear with another face. It was the face of a man. He was rugged-looking with a dusting of stubble over his jaw and intense eyes. His hair was a dark color. His hands cupped the young woman's face, looking at her with a loving gaze. "I told you to trust me, didn't I?"_

_The faces evaporated, replaced by a new one. The woman was an older one with short black hair. She looked scared as she asked, "Can I leave?_

_Another cloud of smoke wiped her away, revealing a new face. The man had deep red and black eyes with scraggily brown hair and a goatee. The Cajun accent from before said with a smirk, "Well, that's a shame. I do enjoy a good party."_

_His face was replaced by two new ones. One was a teenage girl with long brown hair, the other was a costumed face of blue and red. "Well, what about being an X-Man?" a male voice asked, coming from the costumed face. "That's gotta be pretty cool."_

"_I guess," the girl said, looking uncomfortable. "At least it was for a while…"_

_Her voice faded as well as the faces. This time a woman with white hair appeared, looking exhausted, and said, "It appears that Kitty Pryde has run away."_

_A man appeared next. He wore a pair of sunglasses and his brown hair hung into his eyes. "I'm not Scott Summers!" he insisted in an annoyed voice._

_Two young adults appeared; a girl with short blonde hair and a mischievous grin, the other a boy with light brown hair. "Cheer up, dude!" the girl said. "It's not the end of the world."_

_The boy looked distraught. "I know. I just… I don't know what to do."_

_Then, suddenly, faces and voice flooded the world, getting louder and busier until no voice could be heard and no face could be distinguished from one another._

_It all erupted when a single face made the world go white again. The face was that of a man, the skin a dark blue color with equally blue hair. "I've never quite seen anything like it," he said in astonishment. "But… this is just… too much. It could kill her."_

Emma startled from her slumber with a gasp. She shot up into a sitting position, her blonde hair falling into her face. Taking deep breaths, she thought about what the dream could've possibly meant. She'd recognized Scott and Storm and Hank. And that one boy had mentioned the X-Men. But how did it all coincide? What did all of this mean? It was all so confusing.

But there was one thing that Emma was sure of: she had to get to the institute.

* * *

With a groan, Forge stirred and opened his eyes. Everything looked blurry as he blinked away the sleep and pressed a hand to his throbbing head. The room came into focus, filling Forge with confusion.

He sat up, looking around him. The room he was in looked exactly like his room in the seventies. There was a beaded curtain in the doorway, an archaic computer set-up in the corner –although, it had been impressive during his era– and a Jimmy Hendrix poster hung on the wall. The wallpaper was a pastel pattern with fruit in repeating lines. He swung his legs off the edge of his bed, and as his toes hit the floor, he felt the shag carpet between his toes and knew he was home or, at the very least, the things from his home were back to him.

Just as Forge was about to get to his feet, a tall figure with grayish-white hair came through the door, the beads clacking as he did so. "Good to see that you're awake," the man said with a smile. He looked familiar in the face but Forge couldn't explain why.

"Who are you?" Forge asked, standing up in a defensive movement. He faltered as he stood, still groggy from whatever tranquilizer he was hit with back at the mansion.

"Please, Forge," the man insisted, gesturing to the bed, "stay seated. There is much to explain."

The teenager sat back down, watching the man skeptically as he pulled up at chair and took a seat. "Do you like your accommodations?" he asked as he motioned to the room around them.

Forge nodded. "It looks just like my room at the mansion back in the seventies…"

"Because it is exactly like it," the man explained. "When you disappeared all those years ago, your belongings were put in storage. And when you appeared here just those few weeks ago, I knew that I would need your assistance. This room is just to make you feel more comfortable."

Forge furrowed his brow. "You need my assistance?"

The man sighed, pursing his lips. "My name is Eric, but you may remember me as Mr. Lencher. I worked with Professor Xavier during your time."

A light bulb lit up in the teenager's mind and it showed on his face. "Oh, yeah! I remember you!" Forge recognized him now; he was older but it was most assuredly him. It had only been about three weeks since Forge saw him last, but the forty years had definitely changed Mr. Lencher.

Magneto smiled. "I thought you might."

But Forge frowned, feeling a little more confused. "If you and Professor X worked together, then why did you attack the mansion?"

With a dramatic sigh, Magneto leaned forward. "Charles and I had a falling out a few years back." He paused, making sure he knew everything that he wanted to say. "We worked together for years, trying to gain equality for mutant-kind. And then Charles just threw it all away. He just hid us from the world."

Forge couldn't believe it. Xavier had seemed like he would always be fighting for equality. It was hard to believe that he'd just given it all up.

"But I'm still fighting," Magneto continued. "And I need your help."

"My help…" the teenager repeated thoughtfully. "How?"

A coy smile came over the older man's face. "I have a plan to put into action," he explained vaguely. "But I need someone with technical prowess. I remember you were a great help when Charles and I were building Cerebro. I believe that your special brain will come in handy." He paused then added, "And your special arm."

A smile came over Forge's face. He knew that he could trust Magneto. Not even Bobby knew about his arm, let alone anyone else at the mansion.

* * *

AN: His arm? Hmm… intriguing. Anyways, I know that this is the second chapter in a row that has nothing to do with Logan and Rogue as a couple, but I promise you that next chapter is a nice and long nearly three thousand word chapter with lots of Rogue and Logan interaction. But not smut. Not yet. So please, review as always.


	6. Chapter 5

AN: Ha ha! I've done it! Over four thousand words in one chapter! Woot! And I bet you're loving the long chapter. Anyways, read on.

Disclaimer:I don't own anybody in this story.

* * *

Chapter 5

Storm and Hank had finally gotten Logan, Rogue, and "James" into the medical wing, while the rest of the school moved from their dorm rooms to classrooms. The elevator's doors closed behind them before the halls were bustling with the roar of students trying to squeeze through the building around the other students standing around like cattle.

Getting into the labyrinth of underground halls, Hank glanced back at the two returned mutants. "Now, who's first?" Hank asked, looking from Rogue to James and back again.

James shrugged then raised his hand in a passive volunteering gesture. "I guess I will," he offered, stepping forward. "Anything to get outta here as quickly as I can."

Hank gestured for him to follow to the next room, everyone else keeping up behind them. The blue doctor set up James in the new MRI machine that they'd gotten about a year ago. Hank hadn't had a chance to use it yet, and he was downright giddy finally having the opportunity. He explained what he would be doing as the confused young man laid down on the platform and was hooked up to the device.

Hank ushered the other three behind the glass where he'd be monitoring the man's brain activity. "Alright, James," Beast said into the microphone. "Now, I'm going to start the machine and ask you a few questions. Nothing that involves too much thinking, just a few questions about your life. Okay?"

"Okay," James replied, wishing he was back at home.

Hank started the machine and Rogue, Logan, and Storm watched as James was pulled into the tubular machine. A bright image of a brain appeared on the computer monitor in from of the doctor. "First question," Hank said, "what is your name?"

"James Marshall," his voice came through the speaker. There wasn't any hesitation or delay in his voice, but the telling evidence would be on the monitors.

Beast examined the screens with interest. "Hmm," he said, furrowing his brow and scratching his jaw, "that's curious."

"What?" Storm asked, leaning down to look at the monitor. Not that she could understand what she was looking at.

"He does seem to think that he _is_ this James Marshall," he explained to the other three. "If he was lying, this cortex," he pointed to a spot on the monitor, "would've lit up. He believes that he is telling the truth." Hank leaned and said into the mic, "How old are you?"

There was a sigh on the other side of the line. "Forty-two," came the bored reply.

"Scott would be about thirty-nine today," Storm said to herself in a thoughtful voice.

Again, Hank checked the monitor. "How did you come to run the inn, James?"

James explained in detail about his stint in the military and how the helicopter he was in went down during a training exercise in Canada. Everyone thought he was dead as they had found his dog tags and sent them back to his grandparents, who'd run the inn and raised him after his parents died. He explained how he couldn't remember anything from before he woke up in the hospital. They called him a "John Doe" until this old woman came forward and claimed him as her grandson. The woman and her husband had shown him all of the pictures from when he was a kid. The most recent pictures looked a little off, but he'd been missing for nearly ten years, so he was bound to look a little different. He went with them, hoping that he could jog his memory, and he helped them out around the inn. His grandfather died about two years before his grandmother, who'd passed just a few months ago. He had been running the inn ever since. As time went on he simply knew he was James, and with no other explanation, he didn't have any reason to think anything else.

Hank continued on with the questioning until he felt that he'd asked all he needed to ask. "Thank you, James. We'll let you out now."

James was pulled back out of the machine and the four bystanders moved back around to his side of the glass to meet him. Hank disconnected him and led him back to the main examination room.

James sat on the table, letting his legs hang over the side. Hank examined each eye, ear, and down his throat, just making sure everything was alright. After that, he took a blood sample and said, "I'm going to run this and be right back." Nursing the bleeding pinhole, James was left mostly alone, or as alone as you can be with three other people in the room. Rouge and Logan were directly to blame for his minor pain and moderate inconvenience. If nothing else he was missing shark week.

Once Hank disappeared back through the door, James said, "You guys are wasting your time."

"Just stop your whining," Logan growled. "If we prove you're not Scott, you can leave."

After a few more minutes of awkward silence, Hank came back, a few papers in hand. "James, do you happen to know your blood type?"

"My dog tags said B negative," he replied, looking up at the blue mutant in confusion, pulling the tags out from under his shirt. "Why?"

Hank sighed. "Well, the blood that I just took from you is type AB positive. The same as Scott Summers."

The air felt heavy for everyone as they waited for James' reaction. He stared up at Hank with his mouth agape and said, "Are you… are you certain?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes, I am."

The younger man couldn't speak at first, more angry than anything else. The blood didn't match the tag, but that didn't mean he was Scott! The government mixed up files all the time; hell, the government declared him dead. And there were plenty of people with AB type blood.

"I believe if you wander around the grounds," Hank said, resting a hand on his shoulder, "that it might help jog your memory."

Hopping off the table, James stared down Hank. "That doesn't prove it. The blood, I mean." He paced for a second, rolling his sleeve back down. "There are other tests, right?"

Hank was bewildered for a second. "Yes, I can double check for an exact genetic match against Scott's DNA that we have on file, but it will take some time." Hank looked to James reassuringly. "Look, take a walk around the mansion, talk to people, maybe share a meal with some of the staff or students. If you are Scott, your memory could be jogged by anything. If you aren't, then we only wasted a day of your time. Either way, I can't get the results until about seven tonight."

James sighed looking at his shoes. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I guess. Thanks, Dr. McCoy." He walked over to the side of the room and stood with Storm and the others. Storm sent him to meet a student in the hallway, who would escort him back upstairs. When he had cleared the room, Hank brought up the other matter at hand.

The doctor turned to Rogue, who was still sticking very close to Logan, and said, "Your turn, Rogue."

She sighed and asked, failing to hide her concern, "So am I going to get an MRI, too?"

He smiled a warm smile at the girl with a shake of his head. "No, I have something different planned for you."

Logan was the first to voice his skepticism. "What exactly do you have in mind, Hank?"

The blue mutant looked at his friend and smile. "You have nothing to worry about, Logan. Everything will be very safe. Nothing too invasive. With Rogue's new manifestation of other mutant's abilities, from what you two have described, there could be many changes with her body as well as her mind. I'll be taking X-Rays, running blood tests, and several other things."

"And what about my mind?" she asked him, wringing her hands together. "What are you doing for that?"

"I will hook you up to a machine that will monitor your brain activity as you use the new powers," Beast explained. "Hopefully that will help explain what is going on."

"Hopefully?" she asked, looking up at him helplessly.

Hank smiled down at her kindly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Rogue, I will do everything that I can to find out what is going on, okay?"

She gave a small nod and murmured, "Okay."

The next hour was spent taking X-Rays and running tests and giving her a full body examination –which Logan wasn't entirely pleased with– to see if the powers had caused any physical changes.

Logan, Rogue, and Storm waited patiently in the examination room as Hank processed the tests and the X-Rays.

"All of your tests came back normal," Hank started with as he came back in the room. "There was a small blip in your brain scan, but that happens all the time due to problems with the equipment." He moved over to the light panels on one of the walls and pinned the X-Rays up. "But I did find something strange in your X-Rays," he said, flipping on the panels.

The other three mutants looked at the two different X-Rays, none of them sure what they were looking at. "I know that something isn't right," Storm said, moving closer to the pictures, "but I can't figure out exactly what's out of place."

"Right here," Beast said, pointing to the specific spot on her forearm X-Ray. "There are three extra bones her, each about four inches in length." He circled the bones that the other three could see were out of place now. "They don't seem to be connected to any other bone in your arm. With the X-Ray, we can't see ligaments or tendons so I can't tell if they're connected to any of those either." He looked at Logan and added, "The only thing that I can tell is that they resemble a primitive version of your own claws."

Logan didn't respond but glanced down at Rogue instead, who didn't look up at him in return. "Wait…" she said slowly. "Are you saying that Logan had the claws before the Adamantium?"

"It's possible," the doctor replied. "But I can't be sure. I'd like to get a better look at them and that'll be easiest if you can extend-"

"No," Logan said stiffly, cutting Hank off. By the sound of his voice, there was no room for argument.

But that did stop Rogue from trying. "Logan," she said, looking up at him in surprise, "don't-"

"I said no," he repeated forcefully, barely glancing down at her. "I'm not letting you guys do that."

"Logan, be reasonable," Storm said, trying to be diplomatic. "If Hank thinks-"

An audible growl escaped his lips. "I don't give a damn about what Hank thinks. None of you know what that kind of pain does to a person," he replied, pointing an accusatory finger at Storm and Hank. "I will not let you put her through that."

There was a stiff silence as Hank and Storm exchanged understanding glances. There was no way to argue his point. "Alright, Logan," Hank said, "we won't make her."

Logan nodded, but he was far from relaxed as he pulled Rogue closer to him. She glanced up at him worriedly, more about him than herself. "So what's next?" she asked, dropping her gaze to her forearms. Her fingers ran over her skin as if it would help her feel the new bones.

"I'm going to hook you up to the machine that will monitor your brain activity," Hank explained as he rolled a small machine over to her, "and you will try to use the new powers. I'm also going to place so sensors on you for a heart monitor."

She nodded in return and stayed quiet as Hank stuck sensors to each temple, the middle of her forehead, and two to where her head and neck connected, as well as three on her chest and three on her upper back. Logan's arm had shifted down from her shoulders to her waist, squeezing slightly. "Alright, Logan," Hank said, "I'm going to need you to back away."

Grudgingly, the gruff mutant got to his feet and stepped away, going to stand by Storm.

"Now, Rogue," Hank continued, "these machines will record your psychical and mental reactions while you do this and give me a read out when we're done. Okay?"

She nodded, looking less and less happy about the whole situation. "Can we just get this over with?"

He smiled at her softly. "Of course," he replied as he switched on the machines. "So, what I need for you to do is just… try out your new abilities."

Taking a few deep breaths, she held out a hand and focused. After a moment, a light mist came from her fingers and the temperature in the air seemed to drop.

"Good," Hank said, making her stop. "Try another."

She hesitated, feeling unsure of herself. "I, uh, need a lighter."

Logan withdrew one from his pocket and tossed it to her. She caught it with both hands and shot him a grateful smile. She could tell that he was still a little uncomfortable after the claw argument.

Rogue flicked on the lighter and stared at the flame for a moment. Raising her other hand, she focused on it before the flame grew and erupted into a ball of fire. The sudden burst of flame surprised her, causing her to scream and drop the lighter. The flame evaporated into thin air, leaving Rogue to catch her breath. The strain of attempting the unnatural abilities was leaving her exhausted. "I don't know why I'm having so much trouble with this," she said, panting.

Logan watched her closely as she dropped her head into her hands, her chest rising as she tried to breathe. "You didn't have this much trouble when you actually needed the powers," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

She looked up at him, not sure what his point was. "Yeah, so?"

He glanced over at Hank. "You got smaller monitors than those?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes. Why?"

A satisfied smile came over Logan's face. "I've got an idea."

* * *

Rogue stood in the middle of the danger room, the portable heart monitor hanging around her neck and the other one strapped to her body. "Do I really have to do this?" she called out in annoyance.

The speakers crackled as Hank said, "If Logan's right, the powers should come naturally to you as you need them. This is the best way to test them."

She rolled her eyes. This was definitely not how she'd imagined spending her first day back. She'd thought that she'd get a chance to rest up before jumping back into training. Apparently not.

"Just relax, kid," Logan's voice came over the speaker. "You can do this."

Although the sentiment was supposed to be comforting –especially coming from Logan– Rogue just grumbled in reply, "Yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with."

After a moment of complete silence, the room darkened around her and the simulation started. The walls, floor, and even ceiling crackled into life. There was a heavy KACHUNK sound, and suddenly, swinging robotic arms, the barrels of flame throwers, and guns firing non-lethal ammunition popped out of every available surface. The large room was interrupted with floor panels raising and lowering, forming maze like corridors and catwalks. With no end goal to the simulation, Rouge found herself running, dodging, and ducking without much forethought.

Logan, Hank, and Storm all watched several monitors from behind the one-way mirror of the observation room as Rogue lashed out at the attacks. Strom could see the tense look on Logan's face as he watched her struggle to get the powers going. "She's fine, Logan," she assure him. "You can't protect her all the time."

He looked back at her with a serious gaze and said, "I know."

When a spurt of flame shot up from the floor, Rogue let out a scream but managed to suppress the fire easily.

Logan watched as more obstacles threw themselves at her. She deflected the first few with fire or ice, those being the two powers she had most control of. But when an obstacle couldn't be stopped, she just held her hands up as if that would stop it. The large metal object froze in midair like it was suspended by invisible strings.

"Interesting," Hank said as he watched. "It appears that she's also obtained Magneto's powers. From the infamous Liberty Island debacle, I presume…"

Rogue tossed the object aside as if it weighed nothing and waited for the next attack. This whole thing was a lot easier than she thought it would be. Like Hank and Logan predicted, the powers came naturally to her as she needed them to defend herself.

A large whirling arm came at her from the side, surprising her. The arm was whipping the heavy weights so quickly that there wasn't enough time for her to deflect it. But, in defense, her body plated itself in metal, stopping and destroying the small wrecking ball and arm, reducing it to twisted metal and wiring.

"Again, very interesting," Hank commented. "She seems to have absorbed Peter's abilities as well."

Logan shifted his weight from side to side, feeling uneasy. When the hell had she absorbed Peter's powers?

As the three mutants watched, Rogue's behavior gradually began changing. She became more vicious, attacking each object without hesitation. Her stance was low and her eyes darted around wildly. Her hands were poised at her sides as if she were ready at any moment to attack. That's when Logan saw them: her claws. They weren't the bone claws that had been mentioned before but talons that came from her fingernails, like Sabertooth's. And when she finally did make her move, she let out a horrendous growl. She used the talons to climb up one object in order to dodge another.

"She seems to have picked up your animalistic nature as well," Hank noted in a thoughtful yet joking tone.

"Or Sabertooth's," Logan grumbled darkly.

The doctor looked at him, in obvious need of explanation, but Logan just shook his head. "It's an option, trust me," he mumbled. He turned his attention back toward the glass, focusing on the girl on the other side of it. Unfortunately, he looked up just in time to see her get taken down by one of the auto turrets that fired when she was busy with another robotic menace. She let out a grunt of pain before falling limply to the floor.

"Stop the simulation!" Logan barked as he ripped open the door.

Hank shut it off before he and Storm hurried after Logan. The concerned mutant knelt down next to Marie and asked, "Hey, kid, you okay?"

She struggled into a sitting position, using her grip on Logan's arms to keep upright. "Uh…" She could feel a sharp pain on her left side and it was making her feel a little dizzy.

"Where does it hurt, Rogue?" Hank asked as he and Storm knelt down next to them.

"My left side," she groaned between gritted teeth.

Hank knelt down next to her and said, "Well, it's possible that you could've fractured a rib. What we should do is-"

"Just wait," Logan said, cutting Hank off.

Although confused, Hank stayed quiet. Rogue kept her tight grip on Logan's arms as she took deep breaths, trying to block out the pain. After a few seconds, her breathing slowed and she let go of Logan's arms, being able to support herself now.

"I'm assuming this means that you've absorbed Wolverine's healing factor as well," Hank said to Rogue.

She nodded and tapped the heart monitor. "Can I take these off now?"

After heading back to the medical wing and disconnecting the machines, Hank printed out the readings from the monitors. But as he stared down at them, he knew that he couldn't tell them yet.

He stepped back out into the main examination room, leaving the readouts behind. "I'm having some difficulties with the printer," he lied. "How about you two go get some rest and I'll talk to you later. You must be tired after all your traveling."

While Logan felt skeptical about it, Rogue smiled and said, "Thank you, I could use the rest after that." She got to her feet and headed for the door, Logan trailing after her. He only paused long enough to look back at Hank with a questioning look.

Once they were gone, Hank sighed and said, "This is not good."

Storm, who was still in the room, raised an eyebrow. "What's not good? I know you lied. What are you hiding?"

He gestured for her to follow him back into the other room where he'd left the printout. He picked it up and began explaining, "There are several things wrong with her results. In truth, I've never quite seen anything like it…"

"Quite like what?" Storm pressed, examining the printouts. She couldn't make heads or tails of them.

"During the entire time she was in the danger room," he began, "her heart rate only spike once, towards the end when she got hurt. Even a mutant's heart rate would've been higher than normal while in battle, even someone like Logan who seems to get involved in it more often than he should." Hank sighed setting down the papers. "Her brain, on the other hand, was off the charts. More than any human or mutant I've ever seen. It was processing faster than any brain should be even capable of…"

"Well, what does that mean exactly?" Storm asked, furrowing her brow.

Turning to face her, his face looked solemn. "This hyper-functionality is putting a lot of stress on her brain. If we don't find a way to relieve the stress, she could have a stroke."

Storm's eyes widened and she pressed a hand to her mouth. "Hank, are you saying-"

"Yes," he interrupted, rubbing her forehead in frustration. "This… it's just too much for her to handle. It could kill her."

She shook her head, still in shock, as she sank down into a chair. "Is there anything we can do?"

With another sigh, Hank dropped down into the chair across from hers. "I could run a few more tests, but I have a feeling that no matter what I find, there will be nothing that I can do about it."

Shutting her eyes, she rubbed her hands together nervously. "Are you saying… That this is going to happen? She _will_ die? There's no way to stop it?"

He nodded slowly, not looking at her. "If the professor or Jean were still alive, then one of them might've been able to use their abilities to help. But without a psychic, we're-"

"Then might I be of some service?" a familiar female voice asked from the doorway.

Both Storm and Hank looked up to where a very well-known blonde psychic stood with her hands on her hips. "Sorry," she said, "didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I heard your thoughts from the hall."

Storm smiled with relief. "Emma," she replied, getting to her feet and hugging the psychic, "it's so good to see you."

The blonde just returned the smile. "So I hear you've got yourself a problem that requires a psychic solution. Anything I can do?"

The headmistress nodded. "Yes, absolutely." Just as she was about to launch into the explanation, she paused, thinking. "But first… I need you to use Cerebro to find someone."

* * *

AN: Yeah, I just did that. Throw rocks if you wish, but if you throw ones too big that hit my head, then I might forget to post the next chapter. Anyways, tell me what you think, let me know all your concerns. Especially the ones that involve Rogue. Peace!


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own any character or any part of X-Men or Marvel.

* * *

Chapter 6

James had been wandering around the mansion for half an hour and still nothing seemed to come back to him. The crudely drawn map had helped him around the grounds but none of it looked familiar. If he was Scott, this had been his home. For years. So shouldn't he have remembered it?

Mutant students hurried down the hall, laughing and talking, none of them even seemed to notice the strange man wandering down the same hallways. He could see the joy over their faces as they greeted friends or boyfriends or girlfriends. It wouldn't have surprised him if he'd been that happy there once, too. If he really was Scott, that is.

With a sigh, he stepped out onto the back lawn. Again, there were students all around the lawn. Some were hanging out or studying in the shade of the trees, others were laying out in the sun with friends.

But what really caught his eye were the three graves, standing on the edge of the lawn. The students seemed to pay them no mind, as if it was usual. Which he supposed it was. The graves looked like they'd been there for a few years.

As he stepped closer to them, he realized something: one grave belonged to Scott Summers, the man they thought him to be. Whatever had happened to Scott… it had made the entire mansion believe that he was dead. James guessed that if he was proven to be Scott, the headstone would be destroyed.

On one side of his grave, was the largest of the three. The name Professor Charles Xavier was engraved on it and there was a gold emblem of what James assumed was the man's profile. He looked kind but serious with a gentle smile and a bald head.

The name struck a chord with him. Xavier. The school was the Xavier Institute. That must've meant he'd been the founder of the school, not to mention the one running it until his death. James supposed that if he really was Scott and if he remembered Charles that being here would upset him. But as it was, he didn't remember and he wasn't upset. He didn't feel anything really.

On the other side of Scott's grave was another one about the same size as his. He swept away some moss growing over the name and ran his fingers along the words, feeling the mountains and valleys as he ran his fingers over her name. The name engraved on the stone was Jean Grey. He wondered if it was the same Jean that Logan mentioned to Mrs. Monroe earlier.

He stood there, staring at the headstone for who-knows-how-long. There were so many questions in his head about her. Did Scott know her? Were they close at one time? What happened to her? What did she look like? What abilities did she have? The list went on and on, wanting to know who this woman had been.

Suddenly, his head began to pound. He pressed a hand to his temple, trying to will the pain away. There was a voice in his head as he shut his eyes. A female voice... calling out to him, but it was hard to make out.

Then an image appeared in his head. A beautiful woman with long red hair, and she smiled. As the image of her became clearer, her voice became crisper. She was calling to Scott, to him. His headache was softening, and he was finding himself feeling at peace.

And just as quickly as the image had appeared, it disappeared.

He opened his eyes, the pounding in his head was long gone, and his gaze fell on her name again. He stared at the heavy stone slab until he lost track of time, feeling oddly empty now but he couldn't place why. Was that woman that he saw Jean? He had a feeling that she just might've been.

Heading back to the mansion, he knew that he'd have to ask Logan about her.

* * *

Rogue was fairly quiet as they walked to Logan's room. She kept her eyes on her feet, feeling worn out by her workout. The powers still felt new to her and she didn't know how to control them well enough.

Logan noticed her strange reserved attitude but didn't question it. She was tired, there was no doubt in his mind that she just needed sleep. He opened the door and gave her a gentle push inside.

The door shut behind them before he even spoke. "You doing okay, Kid?"

She nodded, still not meeting his gaze as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Yeah, just tired, I guess."

But he felt that he knew her well enough by now to know that something else was wrong. He knelt down in front of her, placing a hand on her cheek and raising her gaze to him. "Relax, Marie. Things will be okay."

Again, she nodded. "Okay."

Logan gave her a small sincere smile before leaning forward and kissing her gently on the mouth.

The kiss felt comforting to Marie, one thing that she hadn't felt since they came back to the mansion. Everything had felt so wrong and weird… But that kiss… It reminded her that her feet were still on the ground.

He pulled away slowly, but she wouldn't have that. She leaned forward, closing the gap that he'd created and her lips pressing against his fervently.

Without hesitation, Logan's hand slipped from her cheek into her hair, allowing him to deepen the kiss.

She scooted off the edge of the bed, sinking down to the floor. Logan readjusted his legs before Rogue straddled his lap, her hands gripping his shirt tightly. He could hear her sharp intake of breath as she rocked her hips down onto his hardening dick.

Logan's hands slipped under the edge of her shirt before looping it over her head, just breaking apart for a second. This time his lips attacked her neck, making her moan loudly.

Slowly, pieces of clothing were shed one by one, and before either of them knew it, he had her pinned to the bed underneath him. Her muscles clenched around him as he thrust in and out of her. Her moans and pants echoed in his ears, egging him on and bringing him closer to the edge.

His name fell from her lips as her orgasm shook her and her head fell back against the pillows. Logan thrust a few more times before he spilled into the condom and stared down at her. "I love you, Kid."

Her chest heaved a few times as she tried to catch her breath. He noticed her blinking heavily as she struggled to keep her eyes open. "I love you, too, Logan."

He pulled out of her, tying off and throwing away the condom, before laying down next to her. He pulled the blankets around them and brought her flush against him.

Once Rogue had drifted off to sleep, Logan slipped out from between the sheets. She might've been exhausted but it was the middle of the day and Logan was wide awake. Between hitting the road with Gambit, the strange development of Rogue being able to touch Logan, and finding Scott, Logan had completely forgotten about something that he'd been wanting to talk to Gambit about.

He pulled on a pair of jeans and a wife beater, looking over at Rogue. She was under a sheet and heavy comforter, both of which were pulled up to her chin, yet she shivered violently. He watched her with concern as he dug a blanket out from under the bed.

There was a slight whimper from her as he laid it over her. He placed a soft kiss to her hair and furrowed his brow at the contact. Her head felt unnaturally warm…

But he shook it off. She'd just had a stressful danger room session before they'd had a workout of their own. That must've been why.

He left the room, closing the door carefully behind him to not wake her. She needed her rest.

Keeping an eye out for Gambit, he walked down the hall. There was no telling where the Cajun could be on the expansive grounds.

Logan wasn't sure how long it took him to find Remy, but when he did, it was in the kitchen. The man in question was looking in the fridge for something and obviously wasn't finding it. He was crouched down in front of the open fridge, shuffling through the bottom shelf.

"Looking for something?" Logan asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Gambit, finally noticing that he wasn't alone, stood and kicked the door shut. "Where in blue blazes do they keep the beer in this place?"

Wolverine smirked. "It's a school. No booze."

Remy let out a heavy sigh and drawled, "Why, I do believe that that is bullshit."

The smirk never left Logan's face as he patted him on the shoulder. "I'll show you the faculty's stash later."

The Cajun's dark eyes met Logan's and a matching smirk came over his lips. "Well, I would be much obliged. I could sure use a drink."

The two left the kitchen, heading toward the foyer in silence. Logan wasn't sure how to bring up the question other than just out right asking.

"What's on your mind, old friend?" Gambit asked before Logan even opened his mouth.

"What makes you think something's on my mind?" he replied, dancing around the question.

Remy raised both his eyebrows at him, a knowing smile on his face. "You sought me out, didn't you? That must mean something's amiss…"

Wolverine just sighed and stopped walking. They were now at the bottom of the staircase. Gambit stopped as well, looking to his friend with a questioning glance. Logan met his gaze and requested evenly, "Tell me what you know about Victor Creed."

* * *

AN: Okay, so the smut wasn't really smut at all. But I felt the need to include a little something. So yeah. Anyways, review and please, please, please, let me know what you think.


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't any person in this story but I do own the plot.

* * *

Chapter 7

"And this is where you'll be working," Magneto announced as he and the young mutant stepped into the large dark room that disappeared into the shadows.

"What is it?" Forge looked around the poorly lit warehouse-like room, trying to take in everything. Magneto flicked a switch on the wall, and with a buzz, the halogen tubes flickered into life revealing a few tools and materials scattered on the table nearby. The room seemed to extend forever with shelves lined with spools of wire, assorted computer boards, and just about anything else the little genius could have asked for. Gesturing to one side of the facility, Mr. Lencher made sure to point out the sheets of heavy steel towering near the ceiling.

"Use as much as you need," the older man continued as he led Forge over to the work bench. "We can always get more supplies, if need be." Sitting on the rolling stool, Forge examined the surface of the table. There were tools laid out nicely, all manner of pens and pencils set aside, and a lamp that loomed over the desk. But what commanded his attention the most was the large rolled up papers he recognized as blueprints.

Forge rolled out the blueprint and felt his jaw drop. "These are Trask's…" he said. Running his fingers over the Trask logo in the corner, he looked up at Magneto with a cocked brow. "You guys were the ones who broke in?"

Magneto grinned. "It's all for the cause," he said, clapping him on the shoulder.

Forge furrowed his brow as if trying to figure something out. "The plans were from Trask which means-"

"The power source was from Stark," the older mutant explained before adding with a smile, "along with a few… other necessities. And we stole the oil rig schedules from Roxxon."

The boy genius looked over at the stacks of metal and nodded. "And that means the oil tankers that were destroyed were-"

"Yes," the graying man replied, knowing already what he was gonna say. "That was our doing as well. We needed the metal for our little project."

Forge was starting to wonder about what was planned. The mystery of why he was brought here was starting to dwindle. Cocking an eyebrow, he asked, "And what is the project exactly? What does this have to do?"

"These blueprints will tell you everything you need to know," Magneto said, tapping the blueprints with an index finger and dodging the question. "If you need more supplies, let me know. Money is no issue here."

The genius hesitated as he looked over the workbench. The technology in both the power source from Stark and what was mapped out in Trask's blueprints was amazing. So much more advanced than anything he could even imagine.

Unlimited resources. Technology not even thought of yet. Secret blueprints that would be brought to the world because of him…

He was like a kid in a candy store.

* * *

The search party finished circling the grounds in about half an hour. There were no signs of anything. The group that must've come for Forge had been good. There were some scattered footprints, but none leading in any certain direction. This gave them no leads.

When they arrived back at the lake, Kitty sighed and called out, "Five minute break!"

There was a grateful groan as they all sprawled out alongside of the lake. Most of the new X-Men were excited to get off campus so that their mission could get underway, but none of them noticed the tension between the older mutants.

Kitty collapsed next to the lake with Spiderman and Surge, choosing a good spot where Kitty could keep an eye on the rest of them. Surge was one of the new X-Men. She was an Asian girl with vibrant blue hair and two metal gloves that ran up to her elbows they helped control her electric powers.

"Wait, wait," Spiderman said to Surge in confusion, "You thought the articles about me in _The Daily Bugle_ were _fake_?"

The Asian Girl nodded with an amused smile. "Well yeah! I mean, most of us new X-Men figure they were just… kinda like cautionary tales for superheroes."

Kitty was sure that if she could see his face, his jaw would've been dropped. "_Cautionary tales_?" he repeated in a squeaky voice.

Surge shrugged. "Well, I mean, we figured that no _real_ superhero could screw up as much as you."

He let out a strangled groan and dropped his head into his hands. The two girls giggled and laughed at him before Kitty placed a kiss on his spandex-clad forehead.

Bobby and Tabby sat on the other side of the lake, trying not to look at Kitty and Spiderman across from him.

Tabby sighed, resting her elbows on her bent knees. "As soon as we leave the school grounds, we're flying blind," she said, attempting to take her friend's mind off his ex. "We have no idea where this Magnet guy took him. We don't have any idea where he could be hiding. This is just a waste of time."

Bobby shrugged. "It's our only hope right now. Without a psychic, we can't use Cerebro." Tabby could see his gaze drifting back toward Kitty and sighed, knowing that seeing her and Spidey together was gonna hurt for a while still.

Meanwhile, Wither was doing some sighing of his own. As much as he tried to focus on anything else, he kept looking over at Wallflower and Elixir. He scowled at how perfect they looked together. They both had blonde hair and blue eyes, they almost glittered in the sunlight. No matter how many people she had gotten close to, Wallflower still had a shy appearance, while Elixir was cocky, balancing each other out. She had fair skin, while he was a literal "golden boy" due to a strange accident that had occurred just weeks before. Nobody quite knew what had happened, but they knew it was Prodigy's idea and involved Surge's electric power.

Alongside them were their best friends. Prodigy, the dark-skinned telepath, cast a longing gaze across the lake at Surge, who was still talking and laughing with Spiderman and Kitty. Wallflower's best friend, Wind Dancer, was sitting next to her friend. Her auburn hair hung lazily over her shoulder as she created a tiny whirlwind in the grass in front of her.

Wither sighed again, staring down at his gloved hands. He wished that he could get close to Wallflower. Or to anybody for that matter. But especially Wallflower.

* * *

"Jesus, look at this kid go," Deadpool laughed, pointing to the monitor and looking over his shoulder at Pyro. Forge was busily working away on screen. "It's like he's on crack and Red Bull."

Pyro smirked as he glanced up at the screen. "Yeah, Magneto sure knows how to pick 'em." He groaned as he stood up. Monitoring the kid's progress wasn't as entertaining as he'd wanted. "I'm gonna go get a drink. You want one?"

"Sure," Deadpool replied, his eyes still glued to the screen.

The younger man chuckled as he left the room, heading toward the kitchen. He was halfway down the hall, passing Magneto's office, when he heard the leader say, "Yes, Sir, I understand the concern."

Pyro paused outside of the door, not moving and listening silently. _Sir_? _Magneto_ was calling someone _sir_? Pyro had never known the older man to see anyone as an authority figure over him. Maybe it was their mysterious 'employer.'

"Yes, Sir," Magneto continued on. "I do understand that what John did was risky." Pyro could feel the color drain from his face. They were talking about _him_? "Yes, I know he disobeyed orders." There was a pause before Magneto said, "No, I don't believe he's a liability." Another pause. "OF course, I do know. And if he does become a problem, I will take care of it personally."

Pyro's heart thumped in his chest and he gulped, before hurrying down the hall to the kitchen.

* * *

AN: Well, I guess that's that. Magneto has manipulated Forge and will take care of Pyro if necessary. And more tension among the other X-Men. Fun fun. Please review and, please, be critical.


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men or any other Marvel characters that may appear in this series. Just saying.

* * *

Chapter 8

"Are you sure you can handle this, Emma?" Storm asked as the retinal reader scanned her eye.

Emma just put her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow at the other X-man. "I was a student of Xavier's, too, if you don't recall," she reminded her in an annoyed tone.

The door whooshed open and said in a robotic voice, "Welcome, Ororo."

"I may not be as powerful as Jean was," the blonde continued as the three of them stepped into the large orb-like room, "but I know that I can do this. Professor X let me try it out a few times…" At this, Storm looked in shock and a little impressed with her. She hesitated then added with a shrug, "Or maybe it was just once. I can't really remember." The notion was still impressive. Charles hadn't really even trust Jean with the machine. "And I really didn't have permission, but I still handled it pretty well."

Storm opened her mouth to announced her concern, but Hank placed a hand on her shoulder and said, "She'll be fine, Ororo. She's the only one that can help us." Storm nodded as they walked gingerly across the narrow catwalk to the console in the middle of the sphere.

Emma gave them both an overly-wide grin as she settled the tiara-like helmet on. "Shall we get this party started?"

Storm and Hank both nodded before talking a few steps back so they were standing on the catwalk. Emma knelt and put her hands on the control panel. Her eyes drifted shut and the room darkened. For a long moment there was nothing, no sound or real light in the room. There was a faint whirring of the aging mechanisms sitting dormant in the walls shaking into life.

The darkness was broken by a faint light, the phantoms of people floating through the chamber. Red and white ghosts swirled around the three mutants as Emma focused, trying to find the missing boy. There were whispers and laughter echoing as she stalked the ground mentally and more voices chirping as she widened her gaze.

She focused on the image she had of Forge. She had met him once, though 'meeting' was a loose term. He showed up at Xavier's fifteen years before she had even known such a place existed and constructed Cerebro almost ten years before she had met the Professor on three mile isle. In building the device, the boy had gotten trapped in a pocket dimension within the unstable technology. When Emma had used the device before, she had spent some time, mentally, in the dimension with him, but she was torn out before she could help him. Still, the boy had left a specific mark on her, and she felt like she could really help him now.

It only took a few minutes before he appeared, the phantom resting front and center. He was hunched over a work bench, blueprints cast off to one side. But as Storm stared at it, she realized that something was off. The boy's right arm had changed. It was metal up to the elbow and the hand had been replaced with a circular saw, Which then flipped back into the metal forearm and brought out a drill, And then that slid back into the metal arm and was replaced with a blowtorch, before the apparition grew shaky and disappeared completely.

"He's in Times Square," Emma said, taking the helmet off her head with urgency and setting it down. "In the good ol' NYC." She stood up, and her face paled slightly as she wavered. Gripping the console to stay standing, she said out of breath, "Whoa, that's a head rush."

"You couldn't pinpoint it better than that?" Storm asked as she reached into her pocket for her cell phone.

Emma huffed, the color slowly coming back to her face as she regained balance. "No. I _told you_, I'm not nearly as powerful as Professor X or Jean. I can only get you a general area." She propped her hands on her hips before adding, "And I think narrowing it down to Times Square from… oh, I don't know, _the whole world_ is pretty damn good." Though the residual feel of Forge had helped her find him, she would never admit it.

Hank could see Storm suppress an eye roll and a sigh as they turned to leave the darkening dome with Emma following. The headmistress found the contact in her phone before holding it up to her ear. Once Kitty answered on the other side, she said, "Kitty, we found Forge's location. He's in Times Square. I need you guys to go pick him up. With Cerebro." There was a confused snap at the end of the line that Hank could overhear even in the middle of the globe. "Yes, Cerebro. I'll explain later. Just go." She hung up, now walking down the hallway and the door to Cerebro closing behind them.

"So what else do you need from me?" Emma asked, falling in step beside Storm.

"Well, we need you to take a look at Scott-" she began, sounding tired.

"_Scott_?" the psychic interrupted with a surprised look. Her eyes were wide as she said, "Isn't he dead?"

Storm heaved a sigh, but before she could reply, Hank said, "That's what we thought. But Logan and Rogue discovered him living and working at an inn toward the outskirts of town."

Emma furrowed her brow in confusion. "Wait… So if he was alive this whole time, then why didn't he come back to the mansion?"

Brushing an aggravating hair from her face, Storm replied, "He has no memory. Whatever Jean did to him blocked out everything."

"Are you guys even sure it's him?" the blonde asked skeptically as they turned the corner. They could all see the elevators now at the end of the corridor. "Could it be a mistake?"

"We're running a second blood test now, just to be sure," Hank said as the three of them came to a stop outside of the elevator. "But we're fairly certain that it's him."

The elevator dinged and the single rotating door flew open to the right, allowing the three mutants to step inside.

Storm pressed the ground floor button and the door swung to the left and shut. "We were hoping that you might be able to look around inside his head and find a block or something that's keeping his memories from surfacing."

Emma nodded in understanding. "Sounds good. I can get him down to the Med Wing ASAP."

Hank cringed slightly. "Um, well, I actually believe Rogue is a more pressing matter."

The elevator doors opened and they all stepped out, moving down the hall without missing a beat. "Oh, right, Rogue's the one you guys were talking about in the Med Wing, right?"

"Yes," he confirmed with a swift nod as they stepped into the foyer. "Her brain scans weren't good. In short, her powers are slowly killing her, and if we don't do something soon, it could be too l-"

"_Slowly killing her_?"

Storm, Emma, and Hank all stopped in their tracks, mentally cursing themselves for talking about the matter so openly. They looked at the furious Wolverine leaning over the second floor railing, none of them sure how to react. Logan leapt over the railing and landed squarely in front of the three, causing them all to jump back.

"What do you mean _killing her_?" the question came out as angrily as it had the first time. "What the hell does that mean, Hank?" He shoved Hank with more force than he'd intended, taking the other man off his feet.

Gambit ran down the stairs to Wolverine's side and stood next to the irate mutant, looking shocked and confused. "Marie?" he questioned. "What's going on?"

But the blue doctor ignored him, returning to his feet and dusting himself off. Instead, he looked sympathetically at Logan, overlooking his outburst. "I didn't want to worry you or Rogue until I was certain," he explained.

"Well, I'm fucking worried _now_," Wolverine snapped, his fists clenched at his sides. After only getting very little information about Victor Creed from Gambit, he was already worked up. Now, it was very possible that he could lose it… "I would start explaining and do it _fast_," he demanded.

Hank launched into a quick explanation of what the tests had revealed, watching the other mutant carefully. He was well aware that Logan didn't do well with emotions and would rather just lash out. The doctor could tell he was aching to hit something by the way he flexed his fingers over and over again. "But we are doing everything we can," he finished, hoping to keep Wolverine calm. "That's why Emma is here. To help get into Rogue's mind and find out what's wrong. I swear to you that I won't let her die." Of course, he regretted that last sentence the moment he said. He knew that if they failed and she happened to die, Logan would take it out on him, and it would certainly be worse than a scuffed suit. But he kept up his reserved face.

Logan didn't look like he believe him, his hands still flexing at his sides. "She's going to _die_, Hank. And you hid it! How did you think I was going to react to _any_ of this?"

"Now, Logan," Storm said in a diplomatic tone, stepping toward him with her hands held up in front of her as if it would stop him from coming closer, "we just wanted to make sure the findings were correct before we told you. And with Emma's help, we can hopefully find a solution."

"Yeah, and what if you don't?" he snapped at them. "What if you don't find a solution and she dies because of you?"

Emma stood silently, examining Logan's face. She hoped that she would see something there. Maybe fear or worry or sadness or pain. But no. The only thing present on the man's face was anger, a familiar anger she couldn't immediately place.

"Logan, you have to trust us," Storm insisted, her voice quiet like she was trying to calm a bull.

"Trust you?" Logan barked with narrowed eyes. "How in the hell am I supposed to do that?"

And then, for probably one of the first times in his life, Hank said something very, _very_ stupid. "Well, maybe if you didn't let your personal feelings cloud your judgment, you could be looking at this situation more reasonably."

Of course, that comment didn't settle well with Wolverine. He shouted, "Shut the fuck up, Hank," when four things happened: one, he extended his claws, tired of holding them in. Hank had finally pushed him over the edge and the animal inside of him wanted blood. Two, Gambit saw his friend's patience dwindle and reached out to catch him by the arms to keep him from using his drawn claws. Three, Emma suddenly recognized Logan from their brief meeting almost 30 years ago.

And four, there was a loud popping and hissing noise that echoed around the foyer with a BAMF! The noise was accompanied by a cloud of blue smoke erupting between Hank and Logan, making both stumble backward and revealing a skinny blue mutants with elf ears, a long forked tail, and three fingers.

* * *

AN: BAMF! I sure hope you all know what that means. And if you don't, you'll find out. So, thanks again to Devistat0r, who gave me some great criticism about what I can do to improve. It is much appreciated! I love to know what I can do better. I will do my best to add in more about the new mutants, I just need to figure out when it must happen amongst everything else I have planned. Anyways, review and I'll see you next Wednesday!


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure you all know by now that I don't any character of this story.

* * *

Chapter 9

The five mutants stood around and watched the newcomer with curious glances, the tense moment from before fizzling into a confused yet calmer state of mind. The blue mutant looked around at the dazzled faces surrounding him until Storm said, "Kurt?"

His quizzical eyes locked onto Storm's confused ones before they lit up excitedly, and he smiled. "Ororo!" he called in his thick German accent as he widened his arms and smile toward the headmistress. "It's so vonderful to see you!" He launched himself into a tight hug, swinging her back and forth.

She returned the hug confused and happy to be returned to the ground. "Wow, um, Kurt. Where've you been all this time?" He didn't exactly leave a forwarding address when he had disappeared years ago.

"I've been traveling around ze European countries," he explained cheerfully, dropping a duffel bag on the marble floor.

"What for?" the question came barked from Logan, who still had a scowl on his face and his arms crossed. He wouldn't be in a warm, welcoming mood until he had words with Hank, not that he was a warm welcoming person normally.

Everyone eyed him warily but looked back at Kurt when he said, "I vaz looking for my muzzah," he said, eyeing the people he hadn't met, especially Emma.

"Your mother?" Storm repeated, still confused but interested. "Well, did you find her?"

His attention was snapped away from the curvy woman in white, and he shook his head quickly replying, "No, but I did find some information on her." His smile was wide as he explained excitedly, "It appears that she vaz living in a village in Germany vhen I vaz born. And people said zat she vaz blue like me!"

Storm smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Well, that's great, Kurt. So what brings you back into our neck of the woods?"

But before Nightcrawler could even speak, Logan growled, "Not that this reunion isn't great or anything, but I'm gonna go check on Rogue." The glare he sent Storm, Hank, and Emma couldn't be missed, no matter how hard they tried to ignore it. "You know, since she's a lot sicker than I was told."

As he started up the stairs, Emma cupped a hand around her mouth and called, "Bring her down to the med wing and we'll get started ASAP!"

All they could hear was him grumble something in reply as he reached the top step and disappeared.

Emma looked back at the others and said, "Well, excuse me, I have to go deal with the vicious Wolverine and his southern belle."

"I'll assist you," Hank offered, following after the blonde.

Gambit took this opportunity to slip away also, without saying a word.

Once they were alone, Storm said to Kurt, "I'm terribly sorry, it's been a… hectic week."

"Zat's quvite alright," he replied. "I understand."

She gave a forced smile and asked, "So what brings you here?"

"Vell," he said, his wide grin covering his face again, "my findings in Europe led me back here! My muzzah is supposed to be in ze area!"

Storm patted him on the shoulder again. "That's wonderful. I'm sure we'll be more than happy to help once all of this other stuff is cleared up."

"Thank you," he replied, his gratefulness sparkling in his eyes. "Now, I'm starving. Vhere's ze kitchen?"

Storm led him out of the foyer, neither one of them aware that they'd been watched the whole time.

Watching from the balcony, Mystique changed back to her real form, knowing they were gone. Her heart was thudding hard in her chest. She'd never thought in a million years that the boy she'd given up would come try to find her years later.

* * *

James stood outside of the bedroom that he'd been told was Logan's. He wasn't sure how to approach the subject of Jean with Logan. There was a possibility that he could know nothing at all or he could know everything. It didn't make sense to James that he felt nervous asking about a woman he may not have even known.

Not that it would even matter if he didn't knock.

After taking a deep breath, he did. There was no answer. He knocked again. Still no answer. Slowly, he reached out for the doorknob and turned it, pushing the door open.

The room was dark with the blinds drawn, but there were a few beams of light shining through the cracks. The room had clothes strewn across the floor and it was only then that he noticed the girl tangled amongst the sheets on Logan's bed.

Flustered, he stumbled backwards, trying to get out of there before she woke up. But as soon as he reached for the doorknob again, he heard her say groggily, "Scott?"

He turned back around and gave her a sheepish look. "Uh, no, it's me, James."

She rubbed her eyes sleepily and said, "Right. What's up?"

The sheets were fully covering her, but he still felt a little awkward being there. "Um, sorry. I didn't mean to bother you… I was looking for Logan."

"Naw, it's fine," she replied, making sure the sheets were wrapped securely around her body as she sat up. "What do you need?"

"Um," he said as he shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "Well, I just… I wanted to ask Logan about Jean Grey."

"Oh," she replied, starting to wake up more. "What did you want to know? I kind of knew her… A little…"

Stepping forward, James sat on the edge of the bed. "I just wanted to know a little about her. I saw the grave outside."

"Well, I guess… I know Jean and you…" she began, then corrected, "I mean, Scott. They were involved."

"Involved?" he repeated. "How serious?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. I know they shared a room. They were together before you…" Again, she stopped and growled out, "I mean, _Scott_, and Storm brought me to the mansion. And the two of them were together until… Well, until she died."

James could feel his heart hammer as he asked, "How did she die?"

She didn't hesitate before she replied, "Which time?"

There was no mistaking the confusion that appeared on his face. "What do you mean?"

Her eyes focused down on the blanket that Logan had placed on her. This was the first time she'd noticed it. "Well, the first time… Long story short, she sacrificed her own life to save the rest of us. A lot of us would've died had it not been for what she did. Me, Logan, Storm… Scott."

His eyes met hers for a moment before darting to the floor again. Jean had given her life to save them. To save Scott. And he couldn't even remember her. "What happened the second time?"

Rogue opened her mouth to answer when a wave of dizziness washed over her. Her head began to pound and all color drained from her already pale face. She placed a hand to her forehead as she let herself fall back onto the pillows.

"You okay?" he asked, scooting closer to her and reaching for her forehead.

Waving away his hand, she nodded. "Yeah. Fine. Just a headache."

Before James could question it further, the door swung open and Logan stomped through it. He barely glanced at James before he demanded, "Get out."

"We were just-" he stammered as he scrambled to his feet.

"Don't care," the gruff man snapped as he fixed his eyes on the pale figure of Rogue. "Just get out."

James hurried out of the room, not wanting to cross the already annoyed Wolverine, and closed the door behind him.

Logan knelt down next to the bed where Rogue gave him a weak smile. He placed his hands on both sides of her face and kissed her forcefully, ignoring the burning heat of her skin.

She gave a squeak in surprise, and when he released her, she asked, "What was that for?"

But he didn't answer. He just stood and said, "Come on, you gotta get dressed. We need to get you back to the medical wing."

* * *

AN: Yeah, I know, kind of a slow chapter, but it's building up for things to come. Keep on reading! And please review!


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men or any other marvel character in this story. I also don't own the newscaster. He's a real dude.

* * *

Chapter 10

"Five hours…" Deadpool muttered as he, Domino, and Pyro stood in the middle of the workshop, staring at Forge's work. "He built those in _five hours_..."

Pyro had to agree that it was impressive. Who besides Magneto could've thought that a sixteen-year-old mutant kid could build _those_ in _five hours_? "How tall are they?"was all that he could think to say.

Domino folded her arms over her chest, shifting her weight to one leg, and looked up at the machine, bored. "I'd say about ten feet," she said unimpressed. "They're only okay…"

The two men looked at her with raised eyebrows and she just shrugged. "I'm just saying…"

"What the hell are you talking about, Domino?" Deadpool shouted, gesturing wildly toward the machines. "They're ten-foot tall _robots_ that he built within _hours_! I'd like to see you do better!"

She just rolled her eyes and turned to walk out of the room. "Whatever. Have fun playing with the toys, kiddies," she replied, swaggering out of the room.

"They're not toys!" Deadpool growled as he stomped after her. "They're _robots_! Really cool robots!"

Pyro chuckled at them as they left. According to the blueprints from Trask, the robots were called Sentinels. Normally, they were supposed to stand over 50 feet tall, but Forge had decided to make two small scale versions to see how they'd work before attempting to make big ones. The internal workings were remarkable and the Ai was like something he'd never seen before. It had a strange targeting mechanism that could find a person with their genes. So, if someone wanted to, the robots could be programmed to attack a single person or a family, only straying to destroy obstacles and for self preservation. Whatever Magneto was programming them to target was a mystery to everyone, however, since their employer had outsourced the chips that held their exact targets to another scientist. It was all very curious.

After adding the finishing touches to the second robot's head, Forge slid back down the ladder and beamed proudly at Pyro. "So what do you think?"

In truth, as cool as the robots were, Pyro wasn't thinking about them. He just kept replaying Magneto's phone conversation over and over again in his mind. Would Magneto really get rid of him because their employer said so? And what did "get rid of" entail? Was Magneto gonna kill him? He knew too much to just be let go, and he really knew nothing!

"They're outstanding," Magneto answered the boy's question as he entered the room just behind Pyro. "You've done a wonderful job." The older man approached the proud teenager and clapped him on the shoulder. "Now, I need your help on something else…"

Pyro could see the boy's eyes glitter in excitement as he asked, "What do you need?"

The leader lowered his voice so the fire starter couldn't hear, and when Forge was given all of the instructions, he cheered, "Okay!" before running back over to his workbench.

"So quick to please," Pyro muttered as he stared dimly at the giddy boy. In truth, he felt a little bad for Forge. The kid was a tool for Magneto at best and, at worst the fall guy if this, whatever this was, went down badly. Not that he was in a much better position.

Magneto looked unbelievably pleased with himself as he looked back at Pyro. "Are you alright, John?"

Pyro nodded, quietly hoping he wasn't overheard. He hadn't realized how easily his worry showed on his face. "Yeah, I'm fine." He ran a hand through his hair before pointing at the sentinels. "So what're we doing with these?" he said, trying to deflect Magneto's attention from his own insecurities about his place with him. "I mean, do they even work?"

The aging mutant wasn't listening though, he just smiled devilishly. "I think it's time we sent them on a little test run."

As though prompted by Magneto, the walkie-talkie on his belt crackled into life and Deadpool started rambling, "Uh, Sir, there are some guys in uniforms poking around topside. Looks like a lot of kids... ooh and Spiderman!"

Magneto never broke his staring contest with the sentinel as he asked, "What kind of uniforms?"

There was a long pause, or rather, a long moment of Deadpool dragging out an "Uuuuuuhhhh" before adding, "Nothing I recognize, yellow and blue with some X's all over them. They look like a pep squad."

And coldly Magneto just said, "Perfect." There was joy in his voice, but that was what scared Pyro the most. Magneto was only happy when someone else was going to be very, very upset.

* * *

Rogue could barely support herself when they stepped into the elevator so she leaned heavily on Wolverine. The dizziness was getting worse and the added sensation of the plummeting elevator didn't help. She settled against Logan, her hands clutching his shirt, and he tightened his arm around her waist.

When the elevator stopped, Logan could feel her sway uneasily. He knew that whatever Hank had found was now coming down on them with a vengeance. Her use of the foreign powers had set it in motion, and it was attacking her without mercy.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to walk, he scooped her up into his arms and stepped into the hallway. She didn't protest, just laid her head against his chest and still held onto his plaid shirt tightly. It was unlike Wolverine to move slowly, especially in such a panicky situation, but he didn't want to jostle her too much.

"Logan…" she mumbled, looking at him sleepily. "What's going on?"

Without glancing down at her, he replied, "Nothing, Kid, just taking you down to the medical wing."

"But…" she said in groggy confusion, "why?"

He slid one arm to better support her upper back and pulled her closer to his chest. "Just more tests, Marie," he insisted. A large lump was starting to form in his throat as her temperature continued to rise.

"Logan…" she slurred as her blinking got heavier. "My head hurts…"

Finally arriving at the medical wing, the door whooshed open and Wolverine slid in sideways so Rogue didn't hit her already pounding head. As they came in, Emma and Hank looked up from the machinery they were setting up. The second they saw Rogue, her face pale and sweat running down her reddening cheeks, they knew they had to change their approach.

As Logan laid her down on the cold examination table, Hank started pulling ice packs from the freezer and tossing them to the other mutant. "Before you even _attempt_ anything, Emma," the doctor said as he rushed over to the girl with more ice packs, "we need to get her temperature down."

But Emma didn't listen. She stepped up to the table, smiling down at the barely conscious Rogue. "Hi, Sweetie," she said softly. "I'm Emma. I'm gonna help you, but I need to touch you first, okay?"

"No can do," Logan growled at the psychic as he and Hank placed ice packs along Rogue's body. "Didn't you explain anything to her, Hank?"

Beast rolled his eyes, sick of Logan's attitude. "Of course I explained, but in order for her to get into Rogue's head, she needs to touch her. One quick touch should neutralize the effects of Rogue's powers and then she should be able to get to work." He cast a quick but serious glance at the blonde and emphasized, "But _not_ _now_."

Of course, Emma wasn't one to follow directions. Quickly, she reached out and laid a few fingers on the girl's exposed cheek, feeling the rising heat. She gasped as the powers began to take hold and, after a moment, she let go, clutching her head with a goofy smile. "Whoa… And I thought Cerebro was a head rush…"

"Emma," Hank said in a warning tone as he placed a few more ice packs over Rogue's stomach, careful not to make contact, "I'm telling you, if you delve into her mind before we lower her temperature, there's no telling what irreparable damage you could do to her brain."

Again, the psychic didn't listen. She placed two fingers on each of Rogue's temples, and as her eyes shut, she mentally threw herself forward into the younger woman's head.

The franticness and chaos of the medical wing melted away and Emma stood in an empty, echoing room. The walls were stark white but the ground was a deep black, making it look like she was standing on a field of nothing that extended in every direction around her, and there was a light fog rolling in and hanging in the air. "Hello?" she called into the emptiness, only to have it echoed back at her.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the thickening fog. It had become so dense that Emma could only see a few inches in front of her. She called out again, her voice distorting as it echoed back.

She struggled in the fog for a few minutes until, suddenly, she stumbled out of it and found a free standing door. Opening it, she found herself in another room, assuming that it had been a room behind her. This one was more welcoming and comfy. The walls were a moss green color, and it was furnished like one of the bedrooms at the mansion, but all of the furniture was clustered in the middle of the room. All around the room were doors. Each one was different. One looked like the door to her dorm at the mansion, one looked like the front door of a house, one looked like the door to a car or truck, and so on.

But there was one that was very, very different from all the others. It was boarded off excessively, chains lacing over it with heavy padlocks securing it. The door behind the boards was worn down as if someone or something had been beating on it for a long time. Emma knew she had to go through that door.

As she approached it, however, she swore she could hear voices whispering. When she stopped moving, the whispering stopped. The closer she got, the louder the voice became. She was starting to make out some of what was being said. Conversations between people that she knew Rogue had never heard before. "The warden tells me that your sentence was carried out by a firing squad at ten hundred hours. How'd that go?" a voice Emma recognized from when she was young asked. And it was Wolverine's voice that replied, "It tickled."

A new voice broke through, shouting, "We can't just let you walk away! Jimmy!"

Emma made for the door, but it seemed to draw back from her, and she was walking toward it for what felt like an hour.

"I'm gonna cut your goddamned head off," Logan's voice growled. "See if that works."

Emma felt near the door, moving slowly in fear but never sure what she was scared of. Then, the voices got louder.

A calm voice replaced the growled threats of the others. "Are you a God-fearing man, Senator? That is such a strange phrase. I've always thought of God as a teacher, a bringer of light, wisdom, and understanding."

"Storm, fry him!" an angry Scott instructed, only to be shot down by the same cold voice that said, "Oh, yes, a bolt of lightning into a huge copper conductor. I thought you lived at a school?"

Emma could almost touch the knob now but felt her arms strain as she fought for it.

The next voice was young and had a laugh to it as he said, "This is a school. No beer."

"Just shoot!" Logan demanded. Of course, Scott rebutted, "I'll kill her!"

Emma moved closer but felt farther away with each surge of strength, only inches away now but no closer than she was before, listening to Logan's voice shout, "You're so full of shit! If you're really so righteous, it'd be you in that thing."

She reached for the doorknob with all her might and the voices blurred together, only able to make out bits and pieces. She could've sworn she heard a younger version of herself talking to a young Scott Summers… And when her shaky hand touched the knob, everything stopped and there was silence. Then, all hell broke loose. The door burst open and she was pushed backwards with the force. Images and voices swirled around her like a tornado, bombarding her. There was a blinding light that seemed to eat at the room.

But somewhere beyond the whirlwind, she thought she could see someone. Not just another image, but a person like her, walking around inside of Rogue's head as if he belonged there. He was tall… scruffy…

Then… he wasn't alone.

Back in the real world, Rogue began convulsing on the table as she let out a scream that could curdle anyone's blood. The intensity of the noise could've rivaled Siryn on a good day.

The scream must've disrupted Emma inside of her head as well. Not only did Emma gasp as she came back out, but she was physically thrown away from Rogue and against the nearest wall.

Marie's scream had faded as she fell into unconsciousness. Logan put a hand to her exposed cheek and said to Hank, "I think her temperature's dropping."

As the doctor began taking away a few of the ice packs, Logan shot a frustrated glare at the psychic. "What the hell happened in there?" he growled.

Still shaking, Emma got to her feet, shaking her head as she dusted herself off. Her eyes were wide as she replied, "I have no idea."

* * *

AN: Oh, Emma, what have you done? Wouldn't it be nice if she didn't put Rogue in mortal danger? Then again, what would be the fun in that? Anyways, you have the epilogue next week before a three week break and the new volume. See you next week!


	12. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men, or Marvel, or any of the characters, or the news anchor. So there.

* * *

Epilogue

Everybody has their secrets. It's human –and mutant– nature. It's part of life. The junior X-Men were no different.

Kitty had really hoped she would steal Bobby from Rogue and she hadn't thought that it would actually work.

Bobby had wanted to leave Rogue long before she ran away but hadn't wanted to hurt her.

Tabby started her pursuit of Bobby because he was taken but now, she was starting to really like him.

_Of course_, Spiderman had secrets. He was Peter Parker, and life was _never_ simple.

Elixir was cheating on Wallflower with a faculty member.

Icarus blamed himself for the death of the love-of-his-life, Julia.

Prodigy had feelings for his teammate, Surge.

Surge loved when her rebellious attitude clashed with Prodigy's by-the-book nature.

Wallflower had never met her father.

Wind Dancer hated her father.

And Wither… well, he killed his father.

But none of that mattered now as the X-Van pulled into the parking lot off of Times Square. They all clambered out of the van, heading down the street into the square. Kitty, Spiderman, and Surge took the lead of the group. Elixir and Wallflower followed them, hand in hand. She beamed at the golden boy as the group swapped war stories about the danger room, making them sound much more dramatic than they actually were. Prodigy was on Elixir's other side, just as Wind Dancer walked on the free side of Wallflower. Icarus, who'd harnessed his bright red wings close to his body and covered them with a jacket, walked in front of the foursome, turning his head to add to the conversation. Wither trailed behind them, hands in his pockets and his head hung low. Bobby and Tabby were at the back of the group, mostly to make sure that none of the juniors wandered away.

Spiderman led them into Times Square and smiled at Kitty. "Where to?"

She let out a large exhale of breath as they slowed to a stop. She took a look around the busy square, hoping to find some clue as to where Magneto could be hiding Forge. People pushed their way around the cluster of mutants, sending strange looks their way. They were a sight to see. The uniforms were much more relaxed than the leather body suits the older X-Men got to wear; the only uniform part of it was a leather jacket they were each issued, blue leather with a bright yellow x emblazoned from shoulder to belt. A lot of them were issued blue and yellow cargo pants, but due to a shortage back at the mansion, a few of them were wearing jeans, and a few of the girls even wore skirts against the advising of the veteran mutants. They also sported active-wear spandex suits underneath everything. They were encouraged to modify and accessorize there outfits to make them feel more like individuals, but the blue and yellow color scheme stood out. Not to mention Elixir's reflectively golden skin, Surge's blue hair and power gauntlets, or Icarus' bulky appearance because of his wings made them stand out even more.

The one that stuck out the most, however, was Wither. He hadn't wanted a uniform, sticking to his usual black skinny jeans and ironic shirt under a unzipped black hoodie, and though it was between spring and summer, he was sporting a purple scarf.

"I have no idea," Kitty sighed in reply to Spiderman's question.

Bobby and Tabby moved around the edge of the group and stopped at the front with the others. "So what's the plan?" Bobby asked Kitty.

She shrugged, frustrated. "I don't know where to start. Who knows where Magneto could be keeping Forge?"

"I thought you knew where we were going!" Bobby snapped at her, throwing his hands in the air.

She narrowed her eyes at him and growled back, "Storm told me Times Square. We're _in_ Times Square."

Iceman huffed in annoyance and gestured to Spiderman. "Well, doesn't _he_ know someplace where someone could hold a teenage genius hostage?"

"Hey, don't look at me," Spiderman said defensively. "My villains have their own headquarters. They don't need to rent space."

"So you're of no help at all," Bobby replied sourly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I know the city," Spiderman snapped back, poking Iceman in the chest, "and I'm telling you-" His voice stopped abruptly, his attention piqued to their surroundings.

"What-" Bobby tried to growl.

"TAKE COVER!" Spiderman shouted to their group before grasping Kitty around the waist and shooting a web up to the nearest ledge.

The other X-Men stood there, watching in confusion as the costumed hero swung himself and Kitty to the ledge. "What the hell was that about?" Tabby asked, furrowing her brow at Bobby.

The world decided to answer for him. The ground started to shake and all of Times Square came to a standstill. The air was filled with a loud rumble and the streets began to crack.

That's when people began to panic. Cars were abandoned in the middle of the street as their owners ran for safety. The asphalt split into wide gaps that swallowed several cars.

And as two robots climbed out of the Earth, Kitty said from her perch high above, "I'm calling for backup."

* * *

AN: Okay! So… lots to look forward to. Still haven't given away too much of the grand scheme of Magneto's yet and we need to get everything with Rogue and Logan fixed up.

I'm having trouble with getting everything planned out for the next installment. Like, I'm getting seriously throw-my-laptop-across-the-room frustrated, so it may take an extra week for the next one to get up.

So, see you in three to four weeks!


	13. Author's Note: About the sequel

Hello to those of you reading in fanfic land!

Now, I know that I said I would have the fourth installment of the Stand Together series up four weeks after I finished posting the last story. And I do realize that "four weeks" was about eight weeks ago.

I do intend to post a fourth story and a fifth because there is so much that needs to be resolved. However, I'm not going to rush. I've been having trouble writing the fourth story and rather than stress, I'm going to take my time. I will start posting the new chapters of the new story when I've finished writing it.

Sorry, guys!

MonsterChild


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